1–10 of 64 posts
Why isn’t every talented developer trying to work there?
Is it just that they don’t want to take the time to study Leet Code? Or are there other reasons.
Thanks
If you like hacking on features, not having to do robust A/B testing or walk through tons of leadership / management hoops, and having a wider role in the development of something, then a smaller company or startup would be better.
TLDR: as with any thing in life, it depends on the person, and what makes you happy at work.
The downside is that you're normally a small fish in a big pond as opposed to a big fish in a small pond somewhere else. The perks seem like the pay, the scale at which you work generally, and the quality of your coworkers is higher than normal. If you like hacking on features, not having to do robust A/B testing or walk through tons of leadership / management hoops, and having a wider role in the development of some…
Definitely. Working for big companies sometimes makes you miss the days when A/B testing was the only tedious part of the SDLC. I have now dealt with legal review (checking every single page to verify that correct disclaimers display to different types of users, or e2e testing of CPRA delete my data functionality) and financial integration testing (replacing Stripe with a different payment processor that integrates with backend accounting software, and verifying that deposits, balance due, payment plans, adjustments, and refunds flow to the correct account and cost center).
Aside from some exceptions, FAANG in general is not that “talented geeks disrupting the world with brilliant ideas” thing anymore.
It’s a big serious business for a while now.
Hence bureaucracy, average but obedient developers, low signal/noise ratio, slow carrier growth, extra layers of management, no freedom.
Not much talented developers I know of who are dreaming of working in these conditions.
The only hiring selling point is money. You don’t need me to tell you that this is the worst motivator for talented people.
To exemplify: https://paygo.ghost.io/why-did-i-leave-google-or-why-did-i-s...
Otherwise, plenty of reasons, many dependent on specific companies. Some examples based on both first-hand knowledge and hearing from others:
Facebook/Meta - tough performance culture, bad work-life balance, terrible public image
Amazon - toxic exploitative culture, bad work-life balance, sliding public image
Apple - secretive culture, bad work-life balance
Netflix - unique performance-oriented culture that won't fit everyone (see the infamous culture deck)... but interviews are team-specific and not necessarily Leetcode-oriented
Google - growth is difficult, sliding public image
Keep in mind that these are aggregate impressions based on many anecdotes. Some teams will not exhibit the same issues. Some people are also not bothered by the same issues you might be (and vice versa).